In the evening before my birthday we got this crazy idea of taking the kids to Paris. We live about 3.5hrs drive from Paris, but haven’t been there since the children were born. Despite the fact that it’s relatively close, it’s not something people do a lot. Everything is close by when you live in Belgium, but I don’t know many people here who would go to Paris, London, or Amsterdam just for a day.

The weather was already bad for days and we only had that one Saturday with nothing planned yet, so we quickly checked the weather forecast for Paris, and bingo – it was going to be a beautiful warm day. So in the morning we told the kids that they would finally get to see the Eifel Tower, and it didn’t take them 10 minutes to get ready.

And so a few surprisingly quiet hours in a car later we were standing at the foot of the Eifel Tower.

First glimpse on the Eifel Tower. Our boys were very impressed.

What to do in Paris with kids who get tired of a city quickly?

We decided on two things: we would go to the top of the Eifel Tower and then we would take a boat tour on the Seine. And of course we had dinner by the river, followed by a huge ice cream, and waited to see how the tower would get lit in the evening. That’s it. Actually, it was just as much as a 4 or a 6 year old could handle in a day, and they all fell asleep in the car just after we took a last glimpse of a beautifully lit Arc de Triomphe.

Paris for a day? Well, if you have never been to Paris, then of course a day is much too short to see all there is to see, but then again, a week wouldn’t be enough either. So you have to choose. You always do. We didn’t even try to see it all – that was not the intention of this trip.

We just wanted to have a fun day and something nice to remember, and driving to Paris gave us just that. Of course, we could have waited till we would have more time, we could have planned it better and prepared in advance (that’s what we usually do when we travel), but that morning it just felt like the right thing to do. And it was! A year later, the children still remember every little detail of their day in Paris.

Kids loved the Eifel Tower at night

Maybe Paris is not next door to where you live, but I’m sure there are some nice places close by that you have always wanted to visit, but somehow never found the time. So maybe next weekend you could do just that.

Comments

My son Rayhend spent more than an hour wading in that pool behind you and your family in your photo. He loved the water from the water canons. Paris was hot that day.so this gave him nice relief from the heat.

Welcome!

Hi, I’m Jurga. A traveler with a camera and a mom of three boys. On this blog, I share our family's travel experiences all over the world, coupled with lots of practical information and useful tips. My pictures will inspire you to discover new destinations and my stories will prove that you can take your kids anywhere.Join us as we discover the world one beautiful adventure at a time! Here you can read more about me, my family, and our trips all over the world...